Dressmakers stand



(No Model.) V

- A. L. JONES.

DRESSMAKERS STAND. I

No.'570,931. Patented Nov. 10,1896.

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. UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- ANNA L. JONES, OFPHILADELPI'IIA,PENNSYLVANIA.

DRESSMAKERS STAND.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 570,931, dated November10, 1896. Application filed October 22, 1895. Serial No. 566,488- (Nomodel.)

T0 at whom it may concern.

. Be it known that I, ANNA L. JONES, a citizen of the United States,residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in'Dressmakers Stands, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactspecification.

My invention relates to a new and useful improvement in dressmakersstands, and its object is to provide such a'device by the use of whichbias or other strips may be cut from goods any width desired withoutcare upon the part of the operator and which will also act as ameasuring-board by means of which predetermined lengths of goods may becut, and it will also serve the general purposes for which adressmaking-table can be used.

\Vith these ends in view the invention consists in the details ofconstruction and combination of elements hereinafter set forth, and thenspecifically designated by the claims.

In' order that those skilled in the art to which my invention appertainsmay-understand how to make and use the same, I will describe itsconstruction and operation indetail, referring by number to theaccompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and inwhich- Figure 1 is a plan View of my improvement; Fig. 2, a sideelevation, and Fig. 3 a central vertical section. Fig. 4 is a centrallongitudinal sectional view of the folding rule.

Similar numbers denote like parts in the views of the drawings.

Heretofore great difficulty has been experienced by dressmakers and thelike in cutting narrow strips of cloth upon a bias and maintaining theiredges parallel, as all fabrics have a tendency to draw from one side tothe other during the operation of cutting. This is obviated and the carenecessary to keep the edges parallel is overcome by my improvement,which is constructed as follows:

1 is a center board, preferably twenty-seven inches square, to which ishinged upon each side extensions 2, of the same width as the centerboard and thirteen and one-half inches long. These boards are providedwith lengthwise grooves 3, preferably an inch apart in edges.

eare cross-grooves arranged an inch apart, 1

and these grooves and the grooves 3 are of such depth and shape as toconveniently accommodate the end. of a shear-blade, so as to guide thesame.

5 is arule composed of three lengths, hinged together and correspondingin length to the length of the sections of the standtop, so that when itis attached to the end of the table the ends will he allowed to benddown out of the way, and 6 are sharp points projecting from the underside of the rule and adapted to fit Within the small holes in the tablefor the purpose next explained.

To cut cloth upon the bias and in narrow strips, it is folded in theusual manner upon the diagonal and out upon this line, so as to obtain astarting-point, when this edge is placed parallel with the edge of thestand-top and clamped thereon by the pins 6 being forced through thecloth and into the small holes in said top, the rule acting to clamp thegoods by friction. The lower point of the shears is then placed in agroove which is at the proper distance from the edge of the stand-top tocut a strip the desired width, Which may be from one-half inch totwentyseven inches, and by following this groove with the shears thecloth will be severedupon the line of the groove, thereby maintainingthe parallelism of the two edges of the strip,

and this-is of great advantage to dressmakers,

as it enables them to quickly and accurately perform this operation.

If a number of strips are desired to be cut at the same time, the goodswill be clamped as above described and the line farthest from the.rulededge of the stand-top cut, and then working inward each strip will besevered upon the line desired, so that but one clamping is necessary fora number of strips.

To cut cloth in given lengths, the rule 5 is removed from the edge ofthe stand-top and the center section thereof placed upon one end of thetable by placing the points 6 into the holes 7 after the cloth has beenplaced upon the stand-top and the shear-blade placed in a cross-groovethat is at a distance from the clamped edge of the table equal to thelength of cloth desired to be severed, when by cutting as described inconnection with the lengthwise grooves the cloth will be severed upon asquare line at right angles to the body thereof.

' As the top of the stand is twenty-seven inches wide and fifty-fourinches long it' serves as a very convenient rest for dressmakingpurposes and obviates the necessity for a lap-board, and I also providedrawers 8 under the center piece for holding small articles, and whenthe stand is out of use for dressmaking purposes the extensions 2 arefolded upon the center section, forming a square, smoothtop table, whichmay be finished so as to be ornamental in order to be used for otherpurposes.

The height of the table may be varied by means of the shank 9, extendinginto the hole 10, formed in the central column 11 of the stand, and thisshank is held in any ad justment by the set-screw 12. 13 are feet projecting upon the central column, and may be of any desired shape or size.

It is obvious that any suitable support for the table may be used, suchas a screw-extension similar to piano-stools or any other desired form,without departing from the spirit of my invention, which rests in thebroad idea of forming a table-top of folding sections hav ing lengthwiseand crosswise grooves for guiding a pair of shears in cutting cloth.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and usefulis 1. In a dressmakers table, a folding top provided with longitudinaland transverse grooves, apertures in the end and side of said top,'afolding rule having lugs adapted to engage the apertures on either theside or the end of the table and thereby secure the fabric to the tablesaid rule being foldable at such distances as to allow its ends to bebent down when it is attached to the end of the table, as and for thepurpose described.

2. In a dressmakers table, a folding top provided with longitudinal andtransverse grooves, apertures in the end and side of said top, a foldingrule having lugs adapted to engage the apertures on either the side orthe end of the table and thereby secure the fabric to the table, saidrule composed of sections corresponding in length to the length of thesections of the top, as and for the purpose described.

8. In a device of the character described, a folding table-top,apertures in the end and side of said top, a folding strip having lugsadapted to engage apertures on either side or the end of the top, saidstrip composed of sections corresponding in length to the length of thesections of the top and being hinged so as to allow its ends to be bentdown when it is attached to the end of the top, as and for the purposedescribed.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affiXed my signaturein the presenceof two subscribing witnesses.

ANNA L. JONES.

lVitnesses:

S. S. WVILLIAMsoN, SAMUEL L. TAYLOR.

